What is Human resources Planning (or HR planning)?
There are many ways to define HR planning, or explain what it is, but the following definitions, taken from the Government of Canada human resources site, is a good, useful working definition:
Rigorous HR planning links people management to the organization's mission, vision, goals and objectives, as well as its strategic plan and budgetary resources. A key goal of HR planning is to get the right number of people with the right skills, experience and competencies in the right jobs at the right time at the right cost.
Note the emphasis on linkage to strategic planning and business planning in the first sentence, and the emphasis on the arrangement and alignment of staff and employees in the last sentence.
Here's another definition, perhaps a bit simpler:
The process by which management ensures that it has the right personnel, who are capable of completing those tasks that help the organization reach its objectives.
o Is strategic human resource planning the same as human resource planning?
Technically, it's possible to do short term human resource planning that is a bit different than strategic human resource planning, in the same sense one can plan tactically or strategically. However, in basic terms, planning within human resources should be done strategically, since longer term thinking is required to effectively manage human resources over time.
If you consider the complexity of any human resource planning process, it seems obvious that the process needs to be strategic in nature. Unfortunately, many companies do not allocate enough time or resources to developing long term strategic HR plans.
So, the short answer, is that they should be the same. All HR planning should be strategic. In practice, many companies plan their human resources in a shorter term, or bandaid type fashion that involves reacting to short term forces, rather than being proactive long term.
o How is human resource planning linked to overall strategic planning?
Particularly for those working in HR departments, it's easy to forget that HR planning (and HR functions) do not exist as ends in themselves, but exist to serve the rest of the organization in achieving the business goals of the organization. Often HR functions and human resource planning get accidentally de-linked from business goals.
Since human resources functions and strategies are a means to achieve corporate ends, they need to be tied to, and driven by the corporate role, mission, vision and strategic goals, or else they simply end up as processes that add overhead, but down increase return.
The solution is obvious. Human resource planning needs to reference the details of the overall strategic plan of the organization. In effect, it serves the strategic plan.



o Can you suggest some ways of making human resource planning more effective?
Human resource planning can be such a "big" endeavor, with planning for all kinds of things, like quality staff retention, layoffs, training and development, compensation, etc, that it's hard to provide hints and tips in anything less than a book sized manual. However, if we take a "view from the top" perspective, there are some things that apply to most human resources planning functions, and are important in making the process effective, or even to make it part of creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
First, human resource planning needs to be linked to the larger business planning or strategic planning process. HR planning is NOT an end to itself, and neither is HR management an end in itself. The function is meant to support and enable the company to attain its business goals, so as such it needs to be linked to and driven by those business or strategic goals.
This is called vertical integration.
Second, and related, it's important that when HR planning is lead by the HR department, it must be remembered that the whole process is to serve the stakeholders and "customers" of the human resources department. This means that the planning process MUST actively involve those stakeholders and customers -- managers, executives, even line employees.
Third, HR planning can't be effective without an understanding of the company or organization, its managers and employees, its mission and issues, etc, and the environment in which it works. The Public Service Human Resources Agency of Canada puts it this way"
Good HR planning entails understanding the demographics-you know the numbers!
o Data
o Profiles
o Projections
Fourth, as with any planning endeavor, the outcomes of the implementation of an HR plan should be measurable and assessible. With many personnel functions there are good, already available metrics (such as employee turnover or "churn", frequency of grievance, etc), but it's also good to try to assess the effects of the implementation of an HR plan on the achievement of the organization's business goals. What human resource functions need to be planned? Human resource planning refers to the planning of human resource functions, or in other words, planning how human resource management will be executed. The Government of Canada suggests that HR management includes the following:
o recruiting
o selecting
o hiring
o orienting
o training and retraining
o motivating
o coaching
o mentoring
o counselling
o recognizing achievements
o empowering
o communicating
o evaluating
o promoting
o laying off
o dismissing
So, in effect HR planning refers to the development of plans in these areas or in similar areas. You may want to develop your own list specific to your organization -- a list that reflects the functions that HR does in your company.
Is human resource planning only relevant to large companies or should small businesses do HR planning too?
Many people associate human resource planning with what very large companies do -- IBM, or Ford. That's because, almost by necessity, large companies need to have a much more formal and comprehensive approach to HR planning because of their size and the complexity of their businesses.
That said, even a business owner with a very few employees need to think (that is, plan) about various personnel and human resources issues. Many small business owners do this without really thinking about it. For example, a small business owner needs to think and plan about what benefits to offer, how to manage growth of staff, how to plan how many staff are needed, how to evaluate employee performance, and so on.
So, even if you have one or two employees, it's useful to "plan like the big boys" regarding human resource and personnel issues. The methods you use may be simpler but you still need to do it, so you are prepared.
Can you suggest a process to use for human resource planning?
As with strategic planning, there is no one way to undertake human resource planning. However, here's a model which relies on gap analysis, and attempts to link human resource planning to overall business planning or strategic planning.
Workforce Analysis: A key component of HR planning is understanding your workforce and planning for projected shortages and surpluses in specific occupations and skill sets.
Internal Scan: Identify factors internal to the organization that may affect HR capacity to meet organizational goals.
External Scan: Determine the most important environmental factors expected to affect workforce capacity, given known operational and HR priorities and emerging issues.
Gap Analysis: Based on an analysis of the environmental scan and operational business goals, what are the organization’s current and future HR needs?
Priority Setting and Work Plan: Based on the organization’s priorities, environmental scan, and HR performance related data: 1) what are the major human resources priorities; and 2) what strategies will achieve the desired outcome?
Monitoring, Evaluating, Reporting: Monitoring, evaluating, and reporting (internally and pubicly) performance results advances our capacity to measure performance, set targets, and, most importantly, to integrate results information into decision making processes and determine future priorities.
When doing an internal scan for purposes of human resource planning what questions should I address?
When evaluating your current human resources capabilities for the purposes of human resources planning, what kinds of questions and issues need to be addressed? Here's a list adapted from some material from the Government of Saskatchewan.
Are there any key forces affecting the organization's operations (collective agreements, staffing issues, cultural issues, work/life balance, demographics, technology requirements, budget issues, expectation of clients)?
• What knowledge, skills, abilities and capabilities does the organization have?
• What is the company's current internal environment? What elements support the company's strategic direction? What elements deter the organization from reaching its goals?
• How has the organization changed its organizational structure? How is it likely to change in the future?
• How has the organization changed with respect to the type and amount of work it does and how is it likely to change in the future?
• How has the organization changed regarding the use of technology and how will it change in the future?
• How has the company changed with respect to the way people are recruited?
• What is the public’s (or customers') perceptions of the quality of the organization's products, programs, and/or services? What is being done well? What can be done better?
• Are current programs, processes or services contributing to the achievement of specific organizational goals?
You may, of course, expand this list to suit your own HR planning needs.


What Is Succession Planning?
Succession planning is the process by which companies and businesses ensure that there is an orderly and planned transfer of powers, responsibilities and job functions when employees -- usually in executive and management positions, leave the company through retirement, or other means.
If we think of human resource planning as ensuring that the right people and right skills are available so the company can meet its strategic and shorter term goals, then it's clear that succession planning is an important part of this process.
In terms of process, succession planning involves identifying positions and roles where vacancies are anticipated, and identifying how the company will fill those positions. When it's determined that succession planning will rely on internal promotions, some companies will begin a process of identifying one (or more than one potential candidate), and begin the development process with them, so that when it is time for a person to step up, they have ample experience and the necessary skills to do so.
For example, a person targeted to fill an anticipated vacancy from within may be encouraged to take relevant university courses, attend seminars for skill building, shadow the current incumbent to learn the ropes, receive coaching and mentoring from the incumbent, participate in job rotations, and other developmental activities.
While it may seem that succession planning (and developmental planning) applies only to internal staff (preparing an existing employee to move up), it can also be used with a new hire, who may be hired before the incumbent leaves, and is prepared for the full position while the incumbent is still in place. The purpose is to ensure continuity of operations.